


Music Meme: Set Four

by i_claudia



Series: Music Meme [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Drabble Collection, Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-02-14
Updated: 2009-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-18 11:11:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/560403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_claudia/pseuds/i_claudia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of five drabbles from the Merlin universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Music Meme: Set Four

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on LJ [here](http://i-claudia.livejournal.com/19051.html#cutid1). (14 February 2009)
> 
> The instructions:
> 
> 1\. Pick a character, pairing, or fandom you like.  
> 2\. Put iTunes or equivalent media player on random.  
> 3\. For each song that plays, write something related to the theme you picked inspired by the song. You have only the time frame of the song: no planning beforehand: you start when it starts, and no lingering afterward; once the song is over, you stop writing. (No fair skipping songs either; you have to take what comes by chance!)  
> 4\. Do 5 of these, then post.

**1\. California Dreamin' (America)**   
_All the leaves are brown_  
and the sky is grey  
I've been for a walk  
on a winter's day 

Merlin hates the cold with the bitter resignation of anyone who spent too many years stuffing cracks in the walls with hay in a futile effort to keep the bite of winter out, curses it with the anger of having seen too many children carried off by the north wind's freezing embrace.

In Camelot the winters are less brutal than they ever were in Ealdor. The stone walls might be damp and cold but they keep the wind at bay, and he finally has enough blankets to stay warm at night. Even in the early hours of dawn, when the sun's pale rays peek into his room to sparkle on the frosted walls as if to remind him just how cold it is, he can't quite bring himself to hate it. 

He can't hate it because the same sun glints off of Arthur's armor as he dresses the prince and it thaws something inside him, warms his toes with its chill beauty; stirs something fragile and delicate in his chest, and he's not quite ready for the dusty heat of summer to snatch it away.

 

**2\. I Move On ( _Chicago_ soundtrack)**   
_While truckin' down_  
The road of life  
Although all hope seems gone  
I just move on 

Gaius knows people wonder how he survived the Great Purge, why the grief and guilt did not carry him away when the executioner's axe spared him. The servants whisper rumors in shadowed corners; the townspeople discuss it in taverns with a wary eye on the door for Uther's guards.

He catches snatches of their whispers, ends of conversations, and he's not sure how he'd answer them if they asked him outright. He doesn't like to dwell on things. And perhaps therein lies his answer: he moves on, leaves the past safely behind him, locked away behind a veil of mildewed memories.

It should be easier now, with Merlin in his life, easy to forget the cobwebbed past when Merlin's eager grin promises so much brightness for the future. But every time Merlin's eyes turn gold Gaius finds his breath catching, sticking in his throat as the past threatens to break free of its comfortable prison.

 

**3\. Lament for Moria ( _Lord of the Rings: The Musical_ soundtrack)**   
_Gone, lost, mourn, despair_  
Grieve for the realm that once was there.  
Gone, lost, mourn, lament   
The end of the glory none could prevent 

Some nights, when sleep is a distant country, Merlin hates Camelot, _Uther's_ Camelot, with an intensity that scares him. He will not be a pawn, will not be Nimueh's Merlin or the Dragon's Merlin in order to bring the old ways back, but he longs for a world like the past, longs for a life with no hiding, no lies, where he can be fully himself for the first time.

He cannot bring magic back to Camelot alone, so he supposes he will just have to be Arthur's Merlin, because when he looks at Arthur sometimes all the pratliness and selfishness of the prince falls away, and Merlin catches a glimpse of the king he will be. For _that_ Arthur he will hide his true self, for that Arthur he will lie, for that Arthur he would give up his own life without thought.

 

**4\. Monks' Chant/He Is Not Dead Yet ( _Spamalot_ soundtrack)**   
_I am not dead yet_  
I can dance and I can sing  
I am not dead yet  
I can do the highland fling 

They are performing the last rites over Arthur's body, chanting the too-familiar words as their grief hangs heavy in the air around them like incense, when Merlin bursts into the chamber with wild eyes, slamming the heavy door aside.

"He's not dead!" he shouts, panting, nearly doubled over. "He's not... don't bury him, he's not dead, not yet."

Uther orders him out, cold as the steel of his blade, motioning for the rest of them to carry on. Gaius wants to offer Merlin comfort, understanding; he knows what it is like to lose a friend, and this loss will be a particular burden to bear for all of them. But as he bends back to his task, he looks more closely, just in case... and yes, Arthur is breathing, barely, his chest moving just enough to be noticeable.

"A miracle!" someone cries, but Gaius watches Merlin carefully as the boy sags back against the wall, looking paler and more pinched than usual. He has his own suspicions.

 

**5\. Out Of My Mind (James Blunt)**   
_We all need a pantomime to remind us what is real.  
Hold my eye and know what it means..._

_Won't you be a friend of mine to remind me what is real?  
Hold my heart and see that it bleeds_

Arthur hasn't spoken to him since the day they fought the sorcerer, not since Merlin leapt in front of his prince, hand outstretched and eyes blazing gold, felling the other man before he could attack again.

Merlin had lived in constant, agonizing fear for the first week after heaving a wounded Arthur on the back of his horse and bringing him back to Camelot. The fear had faded somewhat when guards failed to appear with orders to drag him off to the chopping block; faded and turned hot, became anger at Arthur for avoiding him, since he clearly doesn’t want to kill Merlin for being a warlock.

The anger is enough to bring him to Arthur's door, enough to let him storm into the prince's chambers without even an attempt at deference and start a blazing row. But when Arthur grabs him, kisses him, hard and frustrated and desperate, the anger flees despite Merlin's best attempts to hold onto it, leaving behind only hot confusion in his veins.


End file.
